Short Cuts

Parks Reviewed The latest Controller’s Office scorecard on park maintenance revealed a mixed bag for green spaces in District 10, which as a whole was rated at the lowest end of the upkeep spectrum. The Utah-18th Street Mini Park and Potrero Hill Recreation Center appear to be in great shape, with rankings that exceed 97…

Hilltop Hilltop Grocery, at 1309 20th Street, is being absorbed into what’ll become a two-bedroom single family home. The store, which’d been owned by 90-something-year old Linda Wong and her late husband since 1958, closed two years ago, after being only intermittently open the previous decade. A residence has existed above the retail space since…

Burglaries According to San Francisco Police Department officer Pat McNichol there’s been (another) uptick in automobile burglaries and break-ins, particularly around Illinois and 22nd streets. And earlier this fall there was a robbery on 20th and Connecticut streets. If you call 911 from your cell phone, make sure to give your location. Electric The University of…

Serpentine Subject to Shakedown Recently, Serpentine, in Dogpatch, got an email from a person calling herself a “PR manager” with the subject line “Reputation.” The sender, who said her name was “Natasha Nixon,” claimed she’d been hired by one of Serpentine’s competitors to share negative information, such as “awful photos of the food containing hair…

Recess Over Recess announced that it’ll close at the end of this month; the building the play business occupied recently sold again, and the asking rent for the space is increasing another 35 percent. Not so long ago Potrero Hill was home to do-it-yourself teddy bear factories, mom and pop ice cream stores, and video…

Out-of-State Politics Potrero Hill residents Steve Phillips and Susan Sandler are leading efforts to invest $10 million to support Stacey Abrams’ quest to become Georgia’s first African-American woman governor. Phillips is a former San Francisco Unified School District board member and author of Brown is the New White: How the Demographic Revolution Has Created a…

Nabbed Last month, the San Francisco Police Department arrested a prolific automobile burglar near the Potrero Annex-Terrace Housing Complex. According to Officer Patrick McNichol, the suspect was nabbed as a result of solid constabulary work and luck…Prompted by an increase in pedestrian activity, an all-way stop has been installed at 18th and Minnesota streets. Walk…

Homeless Sheltered According to the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, the Central Waterfront Navigation Center has housed 147 guests since it opened last spring, 28 of whom have been placed in permanent housing. Currently, the facility has 52 guests and 10 vacant beds. DHSH’s Randy Quesada said that complete “dashboards” on Navigation Centers,…

Food The San Francisco Police Department is fielding foot patrols at Jackson Playground… The proprietors of Pera Restaurant are now running the eatery located just around the corner, Papito, as well as the venerable Cha Cha Cha in the Mission…speaking of tasty, Florida-based The Spice Lab is vending Olive Oil Herb Blend – red peppers,…

Neighborhood Empowerment A decade ago a coalition of activists, neighborhood and merchant associations, nonprofits, faith–based organizations, foundations and academic institutions launched the Neighborhood Empowerment Network, to inspire San Francisco neighborhoods to become more resilient. Last month, NEN presented its 10th annual award for Outstanding Neighborhood Watch Group to Kansas Street SAFE Association. Dogpatch won the Comeback…

Corovan Last fall, Superior Court Judge Cynthia Ming-mei Lee issued an order that upheld San Francisco Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors approvals for a mixed-use project at 901 16th Street and 1200 17th Street, known as the “Corovan” site. Save The Hill and Grow Potrero Responsibly had argued that portions of the development’s environmental…

Parking A parking space dedicated to handicapped individuals is now available in front of the Potrero Branch Library, with an additional public space for 20th Street shoppers, replacing the two Zipcar spots formerly located there. The change was sparked after Hill resident and former mayor Art Agnos conveyed to San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency Director…

Endorsement Likely before most District 10 voters are aware that there’s an election, or know who the potential candidates may be, last month Mayor Ed Lee endorsed Board of Education president Shamann Walton for District 10 Supervisor in the November 2018 ballot. “Our City needs leaders like Shamann Walton, who are truly committed to improving…

New Future Kansas Street resident Keith Goldstein predicts that Anchor Brewery’s new owner, Sapporo, will develop the facility into condominiums by 2030. And rumor has it that the now Sapporo employees were asked to sign new job agreements with language stating that they can be fired at any time, for any reason…Potrero Democratic Club president…

Anchor’s Away! Anchor Brewing, which first launched 121 years ago, is being sold to Japan’s Sapporo Holdings Ltd. Anchor Distilling, which produces spirits, such as Junipero Gin and Old Potrero whiskey, isn’t part of the deal, and will become a separate company. Anchor representatives said its beer will continue to be brewed on Mariposa…

Resident Shot Last month, Potrero Hill resident, Jesus Sandoval, headed to the Mission for a night out, according to Rebecca Muzquiz, a friend who spoke with him at her aunt’s house, where Sandoval had been living. “I remember Jesse asking me for hair gel before he went out,” she said, adding that he generally wore…

Business Last month, Dr. Frank Gilson, a local chiropractor, replaced Keith Goldstein as president of Potrero Dogpatch Merchant’s Association (PDMA). Goldstein sold his company, Everest Waterproofing and Restoration, in 2016. He’d taken over PDMA leadership from Philip De Andrade, owner of Goat Hill Pizza, and run it for a dozen years, during which membership…

Elect! The race to succeed Fiona Ma on the state’s troubled tax board got easier for District 10 Supervisor Malia Cohen, after former assemblyman Rich Gordon dropped out last month. Gordon was troubled by a damning Department of Finance audit that led Governor Jerry Brown to call for an investigation of the board. The audit,…

District 10 in Play Last month, Shamann Walton, a City native and San Francisco Board of Education president, announced his candidacy for District 10 Supervisor in the November 2018 election. “I’ve spent my entire career fighting to improve our southeastern neighborhoods, and I’m running for District 10 Supervisor to make sure City Hall addresses the…

Looped Last month, the California Supreme Court removed the last legal barrier to a long-planned Muni streetcar ring in Dogpatch, rejecting an appeal by the Committee for Re-Evaluation of the T-Line Loop, which wanted the tracks redirected. The loop will run along 18th, 19th, and Illinois streets, and provide a link to the Central Subway,…

Next Neighbor Former Potrero Hill resident, Edward Lortz, who recently left the Hill after 30 years, is advocating that long-time community members be allowed to remain on social media site Nextdoor even if they live elsewhere. “I have historical knowledge and opinions about Potrero Hill…,” said Lortz. “At least 100 people here know I’ve gone,…

Theater Hits the Road The 10th Street building that theater company, Thrillpeddlers, has occupied since 2004 has been sold, forcing the troupe to vacate the premises by the end of this month. For the past 17 years Thrillpeddlers has performed an annual “Shocktoberfest,” and has had significant success with revivals of many 1970s Cockettes musicals,…

According to The New York Time’s Top Stories – a blog-like screed that can be found on the Internet – U.S. Representative “Nanci” Pelosi has a campaign email address that’s registered with Goat Hill Pizza, “which has made numerous donations to the Democratic Party.” The blog, or perhaps more aptly, blech, identified the email address as…

Homeless Kansas Street resident Sherri Franklin, who leads Muttville Senior Dog Rescue, located on Alabama Street, is one of 10 individuals nominated to be CNN’s Hero of the Year. On December 11, at 2 p.m. West Coast time, she’ll appear live on the network in New York City with Anderson Cooper, Kelly Ripa and…

Homeless Potrero Hill residents Jennine Jacob and Stacey Randecker Bartlett, along with other San Franciscans angry about encampments in their neighborhoods, pitched tents last month in Civic Center Plaza. The protest followed an incident in which Jacob took her three-year-old son to Franklin Square playground and found a homeless man sleeping in the sandbox; at…